Amanhã
by Painted Smile
Summary: Sudden storms, disappearances, murders. Strange creatures and even stranger animals on the streets. Duo knows something wierds happening, and he knows the other pilots know what it is. But they won't tell him. 1x2 3x4. One curse word, so far.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I don't know who owns GW, but it's not me  
  
O que eu hoje é importante, porque eu estou trocando um dia de minha vida por ele  
  
(What I do today is important, because I am exchanging a day of my life for it)[1]  
  
*  
  
Hi. My name is Duo Maxwell, and I'm Shinigami. I'm a Gundam Pilot, and I'm fighting a war. I'm 15 years old, and I'm an orphan. I'm no one's brother, no one's cousin, no one's nephew. I'm the only survivor of the Maxwell Church.  
  
That's kind of depressing. Everything I am, all summed up, in five sentences. Kind of belittling. Bet Heero would have less though. Something like 'My name is Heero Yuy, and I am a soldier'.  
  
Quatre would probably put loads about his family and his friends, and what he is to them. Wufei, well do you really need to ask? Oh wait, you didn't ask.  
  
Trowa.. What would Trowa put? I just realised, I don't know much about him at all. Hell, I don't even know what cereal he eats, and I live with the guy! Still, three out of four ain't bad.  
  
- extract from the diary of Duo Maxwell  
  
*  
  
The clacking of keys had stopped. I looked up in time to see Heero walk out of the room. I grinned, slamming shut the notebook, and followed him.  
  
"Hey Hee-chan!" I yelled, bouncing into the kitchen. Quatre groaned. The little Arabian was sitting at the kitchen table, head in his hands. Trowa passed him a painkiller.  
  
"What's up Quat?" I asked, this time quietly. "Headache." Trowa muttered. /That's our Trowa, king of the one word answers/ I thought. /Now where's Heero?/ I wandered through the door to the living room, and noticed Wufei. The Asian pilot was oblivious to the evil smirk on his comrade's face, being totally focussed on whatever was on his laptop monitor. /Geez, these laptops are like a disease. I'd better cure him/. I leapt onto the sofa, landing with a soft thump next to Wufei. Wufei yelped, then glowered at me. "Hey Wu-man! Watcha lookin' at?" I gave my best winning smile. Unfortunately, Wufei, like Heero, seemed to be naturally immune to it.  
  
"Go away Maxwell." "Hmmm.. Nuh." Wufei carefully closed his laptop, but I noted he didn't turn it off. "Maxwell. If you do not leave, I will. If you follow me, I will hurt you. Understand?"  
  
/He thinks he's so cool/ A grin slipped over my face. "Aw Wu-man, that's not nice. All I'm trying to do is be friendly." "Hn." He pushed me off the sofa. /He's been spending way too much time with Hee-chan./  
  
Disgruntled, I abandoned Wufei to his laptop. Funnily enough, he seemed rather pleased by that. Oh well, I'll get him later. Now where, oh where can my Hee-chan be? Not in the kitchen, not in the living room, not in our room. This was only an apartment, if a luxury one. We wouldn't get to keep it anyway.  
  
We had to lay low until the fuss had blown over. Some stupid reporter had found our last safehouse (don't ask me how). It took me, Wu and Quat to stop Heero from killing the man, and that was after we'd hidden his gun.  
  
There weren't too many places he could hide. The apartment was big, but not that big. Let's see.. Three rooms checked, seven rooms in the apartment. He wouldn't have gone into Quat and Trowa's room, or Wufei's. Which left the bathroom, and the spare room. Somehow, I couldn't see even Heero hanging around the bathroom for kicks. Spare room it was.  
  
The spare room is pretty much empty. Scratch that, it's entirely empty. There's one armchair. And a poster on the wall. That's it. But now I could hear unfamiliar voices, coming from the room. I froze. /They can't have found us again!/. Creeping closer to the door, I pressed my ear up to it. And the door opened.  
  
I fell forward, and found myself looking up into a pair of gorgeous cobalt eyes. Ok, I admit it. Shinigami has an itty-bitty crush on the Perfect Soldier. Maybe a bit bigger than itty-bitty. But there was not a chance in hell I was gonna tell him. I like living.  
  
On second thoughts, he wouldn't kill me. The doctors would have to train a whole new pilot. Which would be detrimental to any missions that required all five of us. He'd just not mention it. He might even move to Wufei's room. Urgh.  
  
Suddenly, I noticed the voices. The disembodied voices. I'm sure my eyes must've gotten at least as big as saucers, before I noticed the radio. Oh.  
  
"Heh. Hey Hee-chan. What're ya up to?" I asked with a hopeful grin, getting to my feet.  
  
Heero opened his mouth to reply, but a loud, and I mean LOUD thunderclap got in his way. It was immediately followed by a brilliant flash of lightening.  
  
I dashed to the window. "What the fuck? It's supposed to be fine today." Heero came to stand beside me. Even he seemed surprised by the scene which greeted him.  
  
Roiling dark clouds covered the sky, denying every sliver of light access to the city. Were the clouds.. red? Yes. The glow originated from the west.  
  
"Fire." Said Heero brusquely. I nodded, slowly. Behind us, the radio crackled on.  
  
...reports of unusual and dangerous weather conditions, which are further aggravating the firestorm. Residents are encouraged to hose down their roofs, and be prepared to evacuate. The fire appears to be moving to the east, but with uncertain winds, there is no way to tell whether it will continue in that direction. The chief of emergency services, Mr Alan Blunt.....  
  
Heero reached over and switched off the radio. "Duo." He said quietly, and dangerously. Hell, he does everything dangerously. Just part of his charm, I guess. Wait, what charm?  
  
"Yeah Heero?" "Get Quatre. Now." I stared at him, perplexed. "Quat has a really bad headache Heero, I don't know why you want him, but-" "Get. Him. Now." Heero has a special tone, the one that says 'obey me now, or you'll be in deep, deep shit'. He was using that now. I spun around, and walked back to the kitchen. Walked just slow enough to avoid running.  
  
"Quat, Heero wants you. Don't ask me why. Don't look at me like that, I'm just the messenger." Trowa was glaring at me, for making his angel's head hurt more than it already did.  
  
"Why?" I shrugged. "There's a really weird storm going on.. Big fire too apparently, heading our way." Quatre shot an unreadable glance at Trowa, and got up without a word. Trowa followed. I heard them quietly explaining to Wufei. He rose, and they were all headed for the spare room. Quatre glanced back at me.  
  
"Duo, just stay here, ok? Don't eaves-drop, please." I glared. They continued on their merry way, leaving poor little Duo-rella on his lonesome. Since when did they all talk behind my back, anyway? Yet somehow, I wasn't going to eaves-drop. I wanted to, but something was.. I don't know, stopping me. Not because Quat had asked me not to. Something else.  
  
Restlessly, I wandered into the living-room. I had to force myself to do it. I was very reluctant to go near the spare room, and I didn't know why.  
  
Switching on the TV, I flopped onto the couch, and sighed. /What could they be talking about? What's wrong with me hearing it? And why the fuck can't I eaves-drop, like I always do?/  
  
The five o'clock news was on, and the cheerful blonde anchorwoman was smiling toothily at the camera. "Three more disappearances, two women and a man, all from Southside, have been reported to police earlier this afternoon. A tentative link has been drawn from the brutal murders that have shocked the city over the past week, to these increasingly numerous disappearances. In other news, the raging firestorm that has consumed one eighth of the city, appears to be spreading, and there is apparently very little chance of dousing the fire before it reaches into the surrounding suburbs. Surprisingly, despite all the negativity floating round," here she grinned, and winked. " Tourism appears to be on the rise. People have been flocking from all over into our fair city, which just goes to show-"  
  
The TV blacked out.  
  
I stared at it for a moment, then at the remote in my hand. Nope, it wasn't me. Twisting around, I stretched over and flicked the light switch. Nothing. Suddenly it struck me how dark it was, with the smoke, ash and clouds obscuring the sun. Fumbling around in the gloom, I located the emergency torch under the coffee table. It felt kind of stupid, using a torch in the afternoon, but it was frikking dark.  
  
Swearing as I stubbed my toe on the table leg, I headed out into the corridor, and down the stairs. The elevator wouldn't be working, if the lights weren't.  
  
Six floors later, I finally reached the lobby. I was not looking forward to walking all the way back up.  
  
The doorman nodded at me as I passed. "I'm going to check the fuse box." I informed him. "But, sir, I think that's.. "  
  
"I'm not going to stumble around in the dark while you wait for someone else to fix this." I snapped. Hey, I'd just walked down six floors in the dark, you can't blame me. I yanked the keys off his desk, and walked away, ignoring the protesting man.  
  
Stomping out the door, I glanced around. And stood, for a moment. Shit, it was humid. Those clouds should've been pouring with rain. But they weren't. There was something.. unnatural about that.  
  
The acrid smell of smoke was all around me, blasting into my face, borne by the stinging wind [2]. Coughing, I raced along the side of the building. The wind almost seemed to be pushing me along. Finally I came to the plain door in the side of the building.  
  
Unlocking it and pushing through the door, I shone my torch around the small, pitch-black room. There, against the wall. The fuse box.  
  
Yanking open the panel, I checked it quickly. Yeah, everything was working fine. No broken wires, everything in place. Guess the fire must've disrupted the electricity.  
  
Locking the door behind me, I headed back out into the wide world. And tried not to breathe. The smoke was so thick, I couldn't see a thing. But I could hear.  
  
A piercing scream shot through my thoughts. A woman. To my left. I hesitated. It really wasn't my problem. On the other hand.. I was a soldier. It was my job to fight. To fight in order to protect people. People like this woman.  
  
I turned, and battled my way out onto the road. No one was stupid enough to drive in this weather, and the street was deserted, other than me and the woman. And whoever had made her scream.  
  
"Where are you?" I yelled, loud as I could. The scream came again, then suddenly cut off. I broke into a run, heading in the direction of the noise. Turning a corner, I stared.  
  
In the smoke and darkness, I could easily believe my eyes were playing tricks. But I could see a tall man, holding the still twitching corpse of a woman. He hadn't seen me. Yet.  
  
He tilted the woman's head to the side, and kissed her. Wait.. Kissing her neck? Shit! He was biting her.  
  
The first thought in my head was vampire. But they're not real, right? It's just the light and the smoke making me see things.  
  
Suddenly the man's head whipped around, and he stared right at me through the smoke. And from behind me, I heard a soft padding noise. Funny, how in the middle of a firestorm, when you're practically blind and it hurts to breathe, little things like the sound of dogs paws can terrify you.  
  
Shadows slunk past in the haze. They were keeping to the walls, avoiding the light, and I couldn't make out exactly what they were. But there were at least seven of them, all about waist high, and on all fours. An animal then. Big dogs? Right size, right shape, their paws made the right noise.  
  
Then the first of them stepped into the light. And no. It was not a dog.  
  
The yellow eyes of the pack were fixed upon the man and the body. The man snarled, actually snarled, at the wolves. But he had no hope. The wolves rushed him, snapping at his feet as he turned to flee, dropping the body.  
  
They chased him to the end of the street, then turned back. And began dinner.  
  
It was disgusting, watching them devour the woman. But I wasn't dumb enough to jump out and risk, and loose, my life for a dead body. A half eaten dead body.  
  
It didn't take them long to finish it. Seven hungry wolves eat fast. When they were mostly finished, they trotted off, one of them dragging a bloody leg. The limb flopped around in an almost funny way. If a man-killing wolf hadn't been dragging it, that is.  
  
I counted to twenty, then made a break for it. Back onto the street, and pelting across the road, into the lobby of my building. Chucking the keys at the doorman, I raced straight for the stairs, and kept running. At about the second floor, I slowed down. But I kept looking over my shoulder.  
  
When I reached the apartment, I shut the door, and dead locked it. Then I turned around. And for the second time that day, I found myself eye to eye with the Perfect Soldier.  
  
"Where were you?" he growled. Behind him, I could see Quatre watching me anxiously. Behind him I could see Trowa and Wufei, leaning against opposite sides of the doorway to the living room.  
  
I managed a shaky grin, and jerked my thumb at the door. "Checking the fuse box. Power's out all round here."  
  
Heero's eyes narrowed. "The landlord has people to do that. You don't need to."  
  
I shrugged. "Well, I did them a favour. Don't know what you're so pissed off about." "Duo." Said Quatre quietly. I looked at him. "Why did you deadlock the door?"  
  
Oops. "Well, there's a few freaks running around out there. I saw some guy kill this woman. I didn't get there in time to stop him. Actually," here I forced a laugh "I thought he bit the lady's neck. I thought he was a vampire."  
  
Far from the derogatory comments I expected, the others traded serious glances. "I'm sure it was just the smoke." Quatre said finally.  
  
Somehow, I was far less sure of that, than I had been before he spoke.  
  
*  
  
[1] Said by Thomas Simmons  
  
[2] I live in Canberra, Australia, and last summer we had a firestorm here. 400 houses were destroyed. Two houses across the raod from me were razed to the ground. One of my strongest memories is me and my friend, trying to cross an oval during the fire. The wind was unbelievably strong, and the smoke was so thick it was almost impossible to breathe, and when you did, it felt like it was ripping the skin from your throat. 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Not mine. Someone else's.  
  
É melhor ser odiado para o que você é do que amou para o que você não é.  
  
(It is better to be hated for what you are than loved for what you are not) - Andre Gide  
  
*  
  
My eyes jerked open, and I froze. Soldier's reflex. It was just Heero. Leaving the room. At three in the morning.  
  
He did this last night too. And the night before. Which was the night I saw those... wolves. I followed him last night. He went to Trowa and Quatre's room. Wufei went there too. But when I tried to eaves-drop, I found myself walking away, and getting back in bed. For no reason.  
  
Is it just me, or is there something going on here, that no one wants me to know about? I'm sure Quat at least knows what that vampire guy was.  
  
That's it. I'm going out. They can have their little secret meetings.  
  
I get out, get dressed, and stalk into the corridor. I pause, considering whether to slam the door. Maybe not. Heero's been on edge lately, and I don't want to set him off.  
  
I'm taking the stairs. The elevator's still out. The fire changed direction at the last minute, but it's still burning strong. God, I'm learning to hate these stairs.  
  
Standing outside the building, I glance down the street. Most people evacuated when the fire got close, so it's pretty much deserted. There's a neat little park, about 2 km's away. About right for me, right now.  
  
It was cold. The black clouds which had hung so ominously, were finally fading. I cold see patches of blue-black sky, and needles of white light through the gaps. Funny, how the stars are always brightest early in the morning. You'd think they'd shine brighter at midnight, wouldn't you? Just one of those things, I suppose.  
  
The only sound in the street was my footfalls. The moon was at my back, and my shadow was stretching before me. Something I learnt on L2. Always watch the shadows.  
  
The park was silvered by the moon, and the shifting shadows of the trees, made it seem as though the whole thing was alive. I sat on one of the swings, slowly rocking back and forth.  
  
It's a habit I've always had, walking at night. Everything's quiet and still, and cold. Solitary. Right now, considering how left out I felt, solitary was the way to go.  
  
Staring at my shoes, and the tanbark surrounding them, I heard a soft, whispering noise. No words, but a whisper nonetheless. I looked up. Hovering right in front of me, was a softly glowing light.  
  
It began to float away from me, towards the edge of the park. I followed, without really knowing why. I was sort of in a daze. Not awake, but not sleeping either. I knew what was happening. I just didn't care. But I wanted to follow that light. I didn't want to be left alone... in the dark...  
  
I think I must've blacked out. One minute, I was leaving the park. The next, I was staring at a house. A burning house.  
  
Flames were licking along the roof, racing through the garden. As I watched, the shed collapsed with a creaking groan. Sparks flickered up into the dark sky. One floated over my head, falling slowly through the air, to land next to my feet. I didn't even blink.  
  
I wanted to go in there. The light was in there. I knew it. I was going in.  
  
I started forward, but my shoulder was grabbed and I was spun roughly around. I stared blankly at the face, then spun back, towards the burning house. Somewhere at the back of my mind, I knew that face. Not important. I had to find the light.  
  
But, once again, my shoulder was grabbed, and I found myself facing the opposite way to the one I wanted to go. This time my other shoulder was grabbed as well, holding me still.  
  
Vaguely familiar eyes searched my face. "Will o' the wisp." A cold voice told his companion. Another face moved in behind the first. This one's shock of pale gold hair, I had definitely seen that before.  
  
But it didn't matter. All that mattered was the light. I had to get in there after it.  
  
"Duo?"  
  
"He's not hearing you. We'll have to get him home to Trowa."  
  
*  
  
"Urgh.." My head. It's dead. No. It hurts too much to be dead.  
  
Forcing my eyes open, I stared groggily at the anxious face, hanging above my head. "Morning, sunshine." I rasped. Shit, what happened to my throat?  
  
"Duo!" Quatre's delighted squeal ripped through my thoughts. I let out an incoherent moan.  
  
"Wha... what happened?" I asked slowly. I saw Quatre hesitate. "Out with it." I ground out.  
  
"You breathed in a lot of smoke, and it burnt your throat." He informed me. Nice try Quat. "That's not what I'm talking about, and you know it." I accused.  
  
He avoided my gaze. "Duo... not now, ok? When the others get back."  
  
I was sick of this. Sick of not knowing what the hell was going on, sick of being left out, sick of all the whispering in corners. I wanted to know.  
  
"Quat, I almost walked into a burning building. I _wanted_ to go into it. And I don't know why. I thought I was following a light. I know that you know what happened. I know that Heero knows. I know Wufei knows, and I know Trowa knows. If you don't want to tell me why I almost died, fine. But don't drop hints, and don't do the little secret meetings in the middle of the night."  
  
I felt kind of bad when I saw his face, but right now, I was too pissed off to care. Every word I said, his face got pinker and pinker. He looked down. He almost seemed ashamed. But when I mentioned the meetings, his head snapped up.  
  
"You know about that?" I snorted.  
  
"'Bout the only thing I do know. It's a bit hard not to notice when your roommate leaves in the middle of the night for three days straight."  
  
The door swung open. Heero trooped in, followed by the other two pilots. "Well?" Heero asked Quatre, not even glancing at me.  
  
"He remembers." The little blond replied glumly.  
  
Heero nodded sharply. Wufei swore in Chinese. Trowa, you guessed it, was silent.  
  
"So. Are you gonna tell me what's going on now?" I asked as loudly as I could. Heero glanced at the others. 'He'll figure it out sooner or later' I saw Quat mouth silently.  
  
"Duo. Three days ago, the murder you saw was committed by a vampire. Like you guessed." Heero told me bluntly.  
  
What pain-killers was I on? Clearly, they weren't working and they were giving me hallucinations. I could've sworn I just heard the Perfect Soldier tell me I'd seen a vampire.  
  
My disbelief showed on my face. Wufei stepped forward. And up. And up. He was hovering maybe a metre of the floor. My jaw dropped open, just like one of those cartoons.  
  
Ok, ok. I can deal with this, I can... HE'S FLYING! I can deal, I can deal... no I can't.  
  
I settled for staring at Wufei. For a long, long time.  
  
"Maxwell, are you done yet? Believe Heero now?" Wufei snapped. I shook my head slowly. "Won't be done staring for a while yet, so you can just freaking well sit there."  
  
Wufei shot a pleading glance at Heero. He nodded. And lit a fire. In his hands. Without matches. Or fuel.  
  
By this time, what with the headache and the floating Wufei, I was pretty spaced out. All I could manage was a pathetic "Shit."  
  
"I'm pyrokinetic [1], I am abnormally strong, and I am a coercer. Which means," he paused. I had a feeling I wasn't going to like this. "I can make people do whatever I want them too. By making them want too."  
  
"By messing with their mind."  
  
My words surprised even me. It seemed, that on some level, I had already accepted that this was real. Maybe it was the flying.  
  
"Yes." Heero said calmly. "Is that why I couldn't eavesdrop, and I still can't go near the spare room? Because you screwed around with my thoughts?"  
  
Quatre actually flinched from my words. Heero remained emotionless. "You could not know what we talked about. And you are known for eaves-dropping. Both Trowa and I took the precaution of ensuring that you would not."  
  
I glanced at Trowa, then at Quatre. "So, what do you guys do? Walk through walls?"  
  
"I do that." Interjected Wufei.  
  
Great. That helps.  
  
"I am a telepath and a divinator [2]." Said Trowa smoothly.  
  
"I'm an empath, and I have weather control." Quatre added, with a nervous smile at me. He seemed to think I was going to blow up at any second. Which I was. But I wasn't going to let them see.  
  
What kind of friends break into your mind and tamper with your thoughts? No kind. Guess I don't know these guys at all.  
  
*  
  
An hour or so later, I was leaning against the rough bark of a tree. The dappled green light was calm, soothing. In my mood, it was damn annoying.  
  
I was... I suppose the only word for it is sulking. But can you blame me? I'm like the kid who finds out about the party halfway through, and when the poor kid gets there, everyone else is armed with water pistols. You get the watering can. Sound fair to you?  
  
Apparently, not only had I seen a vampire, and a werewolf pack, the four guys I worked with, lived with, ate with, and shared my air with, were all some sort of... superhumans. If that isn't enough to piss you off, I don't know what is.  
  
Something I'd trying to by avoiding rose to the surface of my thoughts. I was the only human. And two of them, at least, had already used their... abilities... on me. How about the others?  
  
At least the little matter of that meeting, the day of the fire, had been cleared up. A storm. Quatre was a weather... whatever. And the fire. Heero was pyrokinetic.  
  
A wave of anger swelled up, and I reached down beside me, grabbed a stick, and snapped it without looking down. Just when were they planning on telling me? After I was dead of freaky lights?  
  
Turns out that light thing was a will o' the wisp. They're souls that can't get in to heaven or hell. They float around, trying to lead travellers to their doom. Pretty lame life, if you ask me. Which no one ever does.  
  
I hate liars. Even though just about everyone is a liar. Everyone but me, and my cover stories come pretty damn close. And these guys had lied to me, for _months_.  
  
Standing, I turned slowly for home.  
  
*  
  
[1] Is that the right word? I mean those people who can make fire. [2] Like a future-teller. 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Not mine  
  
A coragem não sabe o que é em torno do canto, mas circunda-o de qualquer maneira.  
  
(Courage doesn't know what's around the corner, but goes around it anyway.) [1]  
  
*  
  
So here I am again. Back in the park. You'd think, after what happened last time, this would be the last place I'd want to go. But, since I found out who the others really are, this park is my refuge.  
  
At the apartment, they've stopped being discreet with their abilities. I'll be watching TV, and suddenly Wufei will wander through the wall, or Trowa will leave me a note, telling me to avoid dogs today. Just plain creepy.  
  
I think Quatre ordered them not to use their powers on me again. I'm not sure though. I haven't baited Wufei, or even Heero recently.  
  
In fact, I've kind of been avoiding them altogether. I've only known about their powers for a couple of days, and already, I'm drifting away.  
  
A twig snaps to my left. Automatically, I drop to the ground. Reflexes again. It's just some drunk.  
  
As the guy staggers closer, I recognise him. Mark, who works at the local cop shop. Met him a few times when he was checking up on fire damage. The fire crews were so rushed off their feet, they didn't have the time.  
  
Mark was drunker than drunk. He seemed to be about up to the 'walls spinning and the concrete's melting' phase. Somehow, though, he recognised me.  
  
"Duo.. Watcha doin' all da way ou' 'ere?" he slurred. I raised an eyebrow. "You off duty, Mark?"  
  
"You betcha...heh..." Slowly, Mark fell down. Shaking my head, I walked over to him.  
  
"Where do you live?" Mark pointed blearily. "Astur Street. 10."  
  
As I bent to pick him up, his hair fell forward. And I saw his ears. His pointed ears.  
  
A few days ago, I would've shrugged it off, as cool and unusual, but nothing really important. Now, however, I knew better.  
  
Mark saw me looking. "Y'already know, doncha?" he guessed. I nodded.  
  
*  
  
Quarter of an hour later, I was still slogging up the street, part dragging, mostly carrying Mark.  
  
"Heard of the proph'cy?" he asked. I shook my head. " 'S why all the... the... special folks, like me and stuff, 're comin' here. 'Cos of the baby see?"  
  
I stared at him. Or at his shoulder. It's hard to stare someone in the face, when you're trying to carry them. "The baby?" I queried.  
  
"Yep," Mark nodded sagely. " 'S a real special brat. There's this proph'cy thing, they say that lil bubba's goin' ta either... uh... blimey, can't 'member now. Wait... oh yeah. Damn brat's goin' ta either kill all of us special people, or it's goin' ta save the lot of us from the humans. No' that there's anythin' wrong with you, mate." He added, as quickly as he could.  
  
"Yeah, thanks." I muttered. Prophecy, hey? Great. I feel so much better now. Mark was still rambling on, oblivious.  
  
"Hear it's living with the witches. The ones tha' support it. Some 'f 'em don't, y'know. Some 'f 'em want ta kill it, no' take the risk, y'know? An' some 'f 'em want ta help it make sure we're goin' ta come ou' on top."  
  
"Really." I murmured. Was he telling the truth, or was it just drunken ramblings? Did I care? I'd had more than enough of this paranormal shit.  
  
"Yeh... baby's parents 're fightin' over it. A vampire an' a witch goddess."  
  
"Which side are they on?" I asked, trying to work out whether this was the truth. He really seemed to believe what he was saying. And I've found, it's a bit hard to lie when you're dead drunk.  
  
"Uh.....the vampire, he's for the brat, an' the witch's against... I think."  
  
Changing the subject, I pointed. "That your house?" The man, or whatever he was, nodded.  
  
Soon as I'd gotten Mark home, and hopefully a little more sober, I phoned the apartment. The guys were used to me taking my night time walks now. I think they know, I really need my lone-time.  
  
"Hello?" Wufei answered the phone.  
  
"Hey Wufei, it's Duo. I'm going to be a bit later than usual." I could hear Wufei relaying that to the others. And then a clunk, as the receiver was snatched out of Wufei's hand.  
  
"Duo, come home now. You know why." Heero ordered. Geez, paranoia. But then again..... I was not interested in meeting a vampire. Or anything else, for that matter. I'd already met an elf, that was enough, thanks all the same.  
  
I called a cab, heading for home. Heero was waiting in the lobby for me.  
  
"What're you doing down here?" I asked. "Hn." He turned, and I followed. All the way up the stairs.  
  
"Hey, listen Heero," I said, as we trudged up the never-ending stairwell. "I met this guy I know, a cop. He's an elf."  
  
Heero glanced at me over his shoulder. "And?"  
  
I rolled my eyes. Thanks for the interest, buddy. Still, I'm a sucker for those eyes. "He told me about this prophecy thing."  
  
Heero stiffened, then turned to face me. "Not a word, Duo. In the apartment." He began to hurry up the stairs.  
  
He reached the door before I did, I heard him exchanging soft words with Quatre. The blonde boy looked shocked, then apprehensive.  
  
Walking through the door, Heero steered me into the lounge room. Trowa and Quatre followed. Wufei did his ghost thing, and walked through the wall.  
  
"Duo?" Quatre asked carefully. He looked scared. Then again, he'd been treating me like I was made of spun glass since the whole vampire thing.  
  
"I told Heero, I met an elf cop, and he told me about a prophecy thing. And Heero told me to shut up until we got in here."  
  
"What was the prophecy?" asked Wufei. I'd kind of assumed, from the way they were acting, they already knew.  
  
"Apparently there's this super-baby, who's going to either kill all of the.....y'know, like you guys, or save them from the humans."  
  
They traded significant glances. Oh no. Not this again. "What?" I snapped.  
  
Trowa broke his silence. "We thought there had to be some reason why so many Specials were gathering here. But we didn't know what. This makes sense. Specials hold prophecies in high regard."  
  
You could just hear the capitalization. Specials. Prophecies. Vampires. Werewolves. Floating guys. Elves. It was all getting too much for me. Until a few days ago, the most supernatural thing I knew of was the tooth fairy.  
  
"Where is the baby?" Heero asked, getting straight to the point. I shrugged.  
  
"Some witches have it. Don't know where. The parents are fighting over it." Once again, those glances were exchanged. And, all at once, they stood.  
  
"We're going to try and find out more. Duo, you can't come. Sorry. It's a Specials bar."  
  
Fine with me. Duo-rella is getting used to waiting for his stepsisters to get their sorry asses back from the ball.  
  
As Wufei, Trowa and Heero headed out the door, Quatre flopped down next to me on the couch.  
  
"Quatre, I don't need a babysitter. Go!" The blonde really obviously wanted to go with the others. Still, he made a token effort.  
  
"No, that's ok Duo..... well, if you're sure." And he was out the door in a flash.  
  
Sighing, I rolled onto my stomach, staring blankly at the TV. Some soapie was playing.  
  
"Oh, Dan!" cried the blonde on the screen, sobbing heartbrokenly. Guess all that mascara must be waterproof.  
  
Suddenly, in the flat next door, a baby started howling. It just went on, and on, and on.  
  
And on. And on. And on. And on. And on. And on. And on. And on. And on.  
  
Until about an hour of continuous crying later, I jumped up, turned off the TV, and stamped out of our flat, and began banging on the neighbours door. Which swung open.  
  
Peering carefully in, I looked around cautiously. A one room flat, nothing at all like ours. No one in. Except for the baby, who was squalling away in the corner. It was in one of those little cribs with the bars.  
  
I was disgusted. What kind of parents ups and leaves their baby home alone? Striding over to the cradle, I awkwardly picked up the infant. Immediately, it quietened. And smiled at me.  
  
Have you ever had a baby smile at you? It's enough to melt Scrooge's heart. Gorgeous. Even Heero'd be affected.  
  
Rocking the baby slowly, like they did on those TV shows, I wandered over to the fridge.  
  
"What do they feed you, anyway?" I asked the baby. Judging by the pink jumpsuit, it was female. Now that I looked at it, I could see a name embroidered on the front of her jumpsuit. Her name was Marny.  
  
My eyes were suddenly riveted to a bottle sitting next to the microwave. Inspecting it carefully, I decided it was probably safe to give milk to babies. That's what they eat, right?  
  
I offered it to her, but she didn't seem interested. Sticking it into the microwave, I heated it, and offered it again. This time she accepted.  
  
She finished it off pretty quickly, then looked at me, as though expecting something. I stared blankly back at her. Yep, that's me. The All-Knowing Baby Caretaker.  
  
Suddenly, she burped. And gurgled happily. Ok, problem solved.  
  
I'm not sure how long I sat there. At some point, Marny drifted off to sleep. I was content just to sit there. Guess I must be getting sappy in my old age.  
  
I was thinking about the whole 'Specials' deal. The others clearly believed that this prophecy crap was important. But how could a baby make that much difference.  
  
Glancing down at Marny, I smiled. Not one of my joker's grins, a real smile. Like I said, babies have the cute factor down pat.  
  
Hearing footsteps outside, I walked over and stuck my head out of the still- open door. Wufei, Trowa and Quatre were going into the apartment, all of them looking beat. I followed them.  
  
"Hey guys, what happened?" Wufei turned to answer, then stared at me. What?  
  
Oh yeah. The God of Death was cuddling a sleeping baby in a pink jumpsuit.  
  
*  
  
After I'd taken Marny, and put her back where I found her, I returned to our apartment. I didn't want to leave Marny there alone, but her parents weren't going to be happy to come home and find a teenage boy had stolen their baby.  
  
Even if they were crap parents.  
  
Wufei gave me an odd look as I came through the door, for the second time. Quatre, however, bounced right up to me.  
  
"Duo, where'd you get the baby?" he asked excitedly. Guess having 29 sisters would make you fond of babies. I hope that's it.  
  
I jerked my thumb in the direction of Marny's apartment. Changing the subject, I asked "What's wrong? And..... where's Heero?" I didn't want to show it, but I was really worried about him. I know he's a big boy, and he more capable than me, even. Still, I worry.  
  
Everyone I've ever loved has died. I don't intend to let the same happen to Heero. Whether he returns the feeling, or not.  
  
"The Specials bar was ambushed." Trowa said flatly. I frowned.  
  
"By who?"  
  
"The Ligue Humaine [2]. A Special hunter group. They think themselves the saviour of human kind."  
  
Something clicked in my head. The prophecy. The exact words had been  
  
'.....or save them from the humans.....'  
  
Why would Specials need saving from anything? Let alone humans? I voiced my doubts.  
  
Quatre shook his head sadly. "Think about it Duo. Specials have powers far, far beyond those of any human. Yet humans are the dominant race, and Specials must hide their existence. In a one-on-one fight, a Special would undoubtedly win. But race against race?" he shook his head. "There are around a million Specials. And billions of humans. We just don't have the numbers."  
  
"Alright..... now where's Heero?" I asked urgently. Quatre smiled at me reassuringly. He knew about my little crush. "He's fine Duo. He went to get the Ligue off our backs. He's stronger than the rest of us combined. He'll be alright."  
  
Wufei stomped off to the shower, soon followed, as Trowa and Quatre drifted off to bed. I stayed, sitting on the floor, my back to the couch, and my eyes glued to the TV screen. I was going to wait up for Heero.  
  
Didn't have a clue how to explain why to the Perfect Soldier, who wouldn't know sentimentality if it jumped up and bit him on the nose.  
  
But I still love him.  
  
*  
  
Well that was a sappy ending.....  
  
And, all my wonderful reviewers, thankyou. I'm not going to mention you personally here, I'm going to do a 'thankyou' bit at the end of the fic. But thank you.  
  
[1] Don't who this belongs to, but it's not me [2] Means Human League in French 


	4. Chapter 4

My pen name has changed, from A Queimadura to Painted Smile.  
  
This is more a plot-building chapter than anything else, and there's a fair bit more 1x2 action.  
  
Disclaimer: Not mine  
  
Não esteja receoso das sombras, eles dizem apenas que há uma luz em algum lugar próxima.  
  
(Don't be afraid of shadows, they just tell that there is a light somewhere nearby.) [1]  
  
*  
  
Scratching against my cheek. Oh, my neck hurts. So does my back, for that matter. But my side is comfortably warm.  
  
Turning my head, groggily, I remembered falling asleep, waiting for Heero. I was so worried about him. It'd been well into the early hours of the morning, and he still wasn't home.  
  
I wasn't dealing with this whole Special thing at all. I'd just pushed it to the side, to the back of my mind. There are a lot of dark hidey-holes in my subconscious. What was one more?  
  
So last night, while I was feeling all nice and philosophical, I decided to do some mental spring cleaning.  
  
Alright. Here goes.  
  
I am the only human in a team of five elite soldiers. Do the doctors know about the others? Probably. Why did they choose me as a pilot, without any special abilities? Ask Quatre at some point.  
  
My partner and major crush, aka: the Perfect Soldier, was one of the Specials. More powerful than all three of the others combined. He could light fires with his mind, and control people. And some other stuff I didn't really remember. And he'd messed with my mind.  
  
That was what was _really_ pissing me off. Heero bloody Yuy had gone into my mind and screwed with my thoughts. If it had been anyone else, I would've killed them. This was Heero. Even if I could kill him (not bloody likely) I wouldn't.  
  
Yanking myself back to the present, I glanced beside me, searching for the source of the warmth. And froze.  
  
A tousled head of dark brown hair was lying beside me. And I could smell Heero.  
  
If the Perfect Soldier was going to have a scent, you'd expect it to be oil, or metal. Or that tangy scent, of guns.  
  
But no. He smells like.....well, cinnamon doughnuts. Don't ask me why. Ask him. If you're suicidal, of course.  
  
Beside me, Heero stirred, teetering on the edge of consciousness. I froze, and then started to move away.  
  
A hand reached out and snagged my elbow, dragging me back.  
  
In his sleep, Heero turned to face me, pulling me into a rough embrace. And promptly fell back into the deep sleep of before.  
  
Okay. I could learn to like this.  
  
I started to drift back off to sleep. Heero's breathing was tickling my ear, but his heartbeat was soothing. Who'd have thought I'd ever get to hear his heartbeat?  
  
Suddenly, something collided with the back of my head. I yelped, and twisted to glare at Wufei, who was looming over us, looking extremely tired and confused.  
  
"Watch where you're going!" I hissed at him. "Don't lie on the living room floor, and I will. Otherwise, it's just too tempting." He replied coolly.  
  
Glaring at him, I was about to retort, when I felt the arms encircling my waist tighten for a moment. Looking over my shoulder, I could see Heero was awake, and obviously trying to figure out why he was cuddling up to me.  
  
His face flushed pink, and he glanced almost guiltily at me, before letting go. Damn.  
  
"Mornin' sunshine." I said cheerfully. "You look like shit." Which was true. There were dark rings around his eyes, despite our little siesta, he still looked dead tired, and his hair was even wackier than usual.  
  
"Hn. Call Quatre and Trowa. I have new information."  
  
*  
  
"They've lost the baby." Heero told us bluntly.  
  
Apparently I wasn't the only one who didn't have a clue what was going on.  
  
"WHAT?!" yelled the other three at once. Heero spared them a disparaging glance. "You heard me. The Ligue found the witches who were fostering the baby. One of the bitches decided the only way to save the creature from falling into the humans hands, was to put it in a.....basket..... and let it float away downriver. Just like a fairy tale." Heero's expression said clearly what he thought of that.  
  
"Unfortunately, her.....plan.... was not successful. The baby was taken from the river by the Ligue half a minute later. This was a few days ago. I heard them talking about it, while I was hiding from them." Heero muttered something about baka witches under his breath. Wufei muttered something about onnas in general.  
  
"So.....where is it now?" I wondered. Heero shot me an irritated glance. "How should I know?" he snapped. Sometimes I suspect Heero has a permanent case of male PMS.  
  
Still, he didn't need to be such a jerk. "Don't know, aren't you supposed to be the omnipotent Heero Yuy?"  
  
He glanced at me again. If I didn't know better, I'd say he looked..... hurt.  
  
Quatre shot me a look, that said clearly 'don't start'. "Well," he began reasonably "It'd not really any trouble to us, is it? Whatever we've go to do with it, can work itself out on its own. We're not here to baby sit anyway."  
  
"No, it just concerns the future of our race!" hissed Wufei. "And Duo's." he added as an afterthought. "Nothing at all important....." he continued sarcastically. A low growl from Trowa shut him up.  
  
Ok, maybe it's a Specials thing? They all get male PMS.  
  
"Have you told Duo all of it?" asked Heero. Quatre shook his head, guiltily. Turning to me, he smiled reassuringly. Oh dear.  
  
"Well, Duo, it seems there's.....more to this prophecy then we first thought. Most prophecies are just junk. Some old lady had a funny dream, and boom, a new prophecy is born. But this one..... it mentions us, Duo. Me, Heero, Wufei and Trowa. Not by name, but by description."  
  
I think someone up there hates me. Whoever it is seems to be determined to make me feel about an inch tall.  
  
"Oh. Great. So this means what?" I deadpanned. Wufei took over. "You know the child will either destroy the Specials, or save them. Basically, the prophecy says that we will tip the balance, in either way-" "Not necessarily us." Heero broke in. "It could be something we say, something we own, something or someone we know. Anything."  
  
Wufei shot him an irritated glance. "As I was just about to say, Yuy. So we can't just ignore this, Quatre, we've got to find the baby. With that brat, we'll be in control of this situation."  
  
Trowa nodded. "It makes sense." He admitted. Quatre sighed. "Guess I'm outnumbered. Where're the Ligue's headquarters?"  
  
"I read one of their minds last night. It's on Salisbury Circuit, third house from the post office." Said Trowa flatly.  
  
"Reconnaissance mission. It'd be best if Duo went on this one." Wufei pointed out. I nodded. Finally, I get to do something. But Heero shook his head.  
  
"I'm coming. Just in case." Quatre gave a little, secretive grin. Don't let him fool you. He acts dumber than he is. And he knows a lot more than he says. Like now.  
  
*  
  
"So Heero, you reckon there'll be anyone there?" Heero glanced at me, and shrugged. "Ok, well then tell me about this Ligue thing. I know it hunts Specials. Why? Why hasn't it just told everyone else about them?" I pressed.  
  
"Because if it told the general public, the Ligue would be disbanded. The three founding members are all Specials, with grudges against their race, for varying reasons."  
  
What would make someone want to kill their own race? I'd seen massacres, monstrosities, things that should not exist outside of nightmares and horror stories. And yet, I loved people, most of them, anyway. It was just Ozzies I was against.  
  
"That's it." Said Heero, nodding at a house ahead of us. Big, white, dark roof. Looked like a family home, not a HQ for a cult of vampire hunters, or whatever. Appearances lie.  
  
Heero jerked his head at some low flower bushes at the side of the house, and, without waiting to see if I was following, dashed off. And I followed. Of course.  
  
Crouching under the cover of the shrubs, we waited, listening. The bushes were conveniently planted right underneath a window. Furious whispers issued forth.  
  
"I cannot believe your incompetence!" a woman hissed. "I-I'm sorry, Commander....." wavered a second woman. "My team found an inconspicuous hiding place, like you ordered, it.....it just....." Woman #2 seemed unable to explain. #1 wasn't a happy camper.  
  
"I also warned you not to underestimate the little monster. The creatures develop their mutations young. It comes as no surprise that the thing has force-shielded the place. You do realise, that you'll lose your medallion over this, don't you?" sneered #1. Ouch.  
  
Suddenly, I heard sobbing, and I couldn't help feeling sorry for the poor lady. She was just trying to do her job. Even if her job was to kidnap infants.  
  
So, the Ligue had lost the kid too? This kid seemed to be having an awful lot of luck. What the hell was force-shielding? Like force-fields? Probably.  
  
Heero elbowed me, and then began to move off, silently. I glanced back at the window. Surely we could learn more here?  
  
Heero, seeing my hesitation, yanked insistently on my arm. 'Come on!' he mouthed urgently. I'm coming, I'm coming, keep your shirt on..... or don't. No, bad Duo. Bad thoughts.  
  
We crept around to the back of the house, keeping close to the walls. No one in the large, overgrown backyard. The wild foliage was somewhat at odds with the brand new, squeaky clean shed. We traded glances.  
  
Heero went left, I went right. We were circling the shed, looking for any other entrance, besides the main door. Nothing.  
  
I met up with Heero at the rear of the shed. He shook his head, mutely. We back tracked to the front. The stupid people hadn't even locked the door. Made things easier for us.  
  
Inside, I fumbled around for the light switch. A single, bare bulb lit up the cramped space. Shelves upon shelves, full of weird and lethal looking objects, filled the room.  
  
Heero went straight to a glass cabinet. "These are Devorn Bands." He informed me, holding up what looked like a big yellow rubber band. "They protect the wearer's mind from powers like mine or Trowa's. It's how the Ligue has survived against us."  
  
I took the band from him, as he gathered up the rest. Seemed they were coming with us. I should get one of these things.  
  
I quickly, and almost guiltily, slipped the band over my wrist and onto my upper arm, pushing it up far enough to be hidden by the sleeves of my T- shirt.  
  
I glanced back at Heero, and our eyes locked. He looked sad. "Duo, we promised we wouldn't use our powers on you." He reminded me quietly. "Don't you trust us?"  
  
"Of course I do. But, even if you guys leave my mind alone, there're others who could try. Better safe than sorry."  
  
Heero just turned back to his bag, grabbing handfuls of the bands, and shoving them angrily into the bag. I'd really pissed him off this time.  
  
I walked over beside him, and helped him load the last of them into the bag, silently. Something flashed in the corner of my eye, and I turned. And stared. "Heero, what are _those_?"  
  
Heero looked briefly at it. "Werewolf skull. Unicorn horn. Vampire fang. Mermaid's dorsal. Come on. We're going." He turned and walked out.  
  
I lingered for a moment, still caught up in gross fascination. One row of shelves was dedicated to weapons.  
  
An oddly shaped gun, a silver collar, a mirrored net, a set of iron horse- shoes (what the hell were they supposed to do?) [2] a sword with a curved edge, and more oddly-shaped guns.  
  
Curious, I checked to see whether they were loaded. Yes, with silver bullets. For werewolves. I tucked the gun I was holding into my own bag, along with a tin of extra bullets, and _all_ of the bullets from the other guns. By this time, I'd wasted a good 15 minutes, and Heero'd be well past the murderous stage. Let's hope he didn't decide to get creative.  
  
*  
  
The trip home was uneventful. We retrieved the stolen motorbike from where we'd hidden it, about a kilometre from the house, and rode right on out of there. If Heero wondered why my bag was so heavy, he didn't say anything.  
  
When we got home, first thing I did was go straight to our room, and empty all my silver ammo, and the gun, into a box under my bed. Great hiding place, ne?  
  
Heero was still pissed at me, but it honestly wasn't my fault. I had every right to ensure the protection of my mind.  
  
I was dozing, leaning against my bed with a tattered manga on my lap, when I heard a shout. Reaching under my bed, I grabbed out my gun, and, after a second's hesitation, the werewolf gun too. Just in case.  
  
I darted along the corridor, and stopped at the end, peering cautiously around the doorframe, gun cocked.  
  
Four strangers stood in the entrance hall. One had a gun, pressed to Wufei's temple. The other, was dragging Trowa out the door. I could see Quatre, about to leap out of the lounge-room from the door opposite me. I also saw Heero grab him, and drag him back.  
  
The door slammed behind the men, and I stepped out into the corridor. Quatre jerked out of Heero's grip. "Why'd you stop me?" he asked. I've never heard him speak like that before. His voice, normally so friendly, was cold, tight and controlled. He was P.I.S.S.E.D.  
  
Heero was unfazed. "If you had shown yourself, they would have simply used Trowa and Wufei as hostages to make you go with them. This way, only two pilots are captured." For some reason, this didn't seem to reassure Quatre. On closer inspection, he looked very, very upset. After all, his koi had just been kidnapped. Duo to the rescue.  
  
I stepped forward and put my arm round his shoulders. "We'll get them back Quat, no worries." I assured him. He spared me a grateful smile.  
  
*  
  
A few hours later, we were sitting around the table, trying to figure out who took them, and why. The obvious answer would be the Ligue, but apparently not.  
  
"The Ligue wear medallions." Heero said certainly. "These did not. Therefore, it was not the Ligue."  
  
"But they were from an organised group." Quat piped up. "They were all wearing red ribbons on their left wrists."  
  
Were they? I hadn't noticed. But something else struck my memory. "Their guns were weird." I pointed out. In fact, the guns were very, very similar to my werewolf gun. Not the same, but close.  
  
"Why would they want them?" asked Quat. I thought for a moment. "The same reason you guys wanted the baby. If they're in the prophecy, they're probably pretty important. Same goes for you two."  
  
Heero shot me an unreadable look. "Fine. I will ask Dancy." He stood abruptly, and walked out. Quat and I looked at each other.  
  
We spoke simultaneously. "Who's Dancy?"  
  
*  
  
Well, that was a bit longer than normal. An improvement, anyway.  
  
[1] Proverb  
  
[2] The myth says that iron kills magic. A unicorn is a being made entirely of magic, so shoeing it with iron is about the cruellest thing you can do.  
  
And for the people who've been asking whether Duo's going to suddenly develop powers..... yeah ok. He will get them, trust me, but not for a while. I'm currently fighting off plot ideas that keep changing the direction of this fic. I know basically where it's going, I just keep finding more interesting ways of getting there. 


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Not mine.  
  
A liberdade é a direita ser errada, não a direita fazer erradamente  
  
(Freedom is the right to be wrong, not to do wrong) [1]  
  
*  
  
So here we are. The all-powerful baby has been lost, Trowa and Wufei have been kidnapped, and Heero is with the mysterious Dancy. And what are Quat and I doing? We're eating biscuits, of course.  
  
Who the hell is Dancy? Quat's as clueless as I am. These are nice biscuits. They're the ones with the little.... I think I need to get out of the house more. Biscuits. Pathetic.  
  
"There's something strange about this building." Quatre said, slowly. "Lately it's been feeling almost.... empowered?" he looked at me, trying to get me to understand. He wasn't doing such a great job.  
  
"It's almost like there's a presence." He mused, more to himself than me. But at least he was talking. He'd been scarily quiet since Trowa's capture.  
  
The front door clicked shut.  
  
We glanced at each other, and silently picked up our guns, pointing them into the entrance hall. "It's me." Said Heero's cold voice.  
  
He strode into the room, followed by a red-haired girl. My jaw dropped, just like in one of those crappy cartoons.  
  
She was gorgeous, stunning. She looked like a supermodel. How many people look like that, without make-up? One. Her. And, I was guessing, this was Dancy.  
  
Seeing me, she suddenly smiled, in an almost predatory fashion. "Well," she drawled "Aren't you a pretty one?" Ice-blue eyes flashed coldly. I went on my guard. No matter what they look like, I don't trust people, whose smiles don't reach their eyes.  
  
"Dancy." Said Heero warningly, "Leave him alone." Dancy looked at him sharply, then smiled again.  
  
"Goodness, Heero, I never picked you for the possessive type. Don't worry, I won't steal him."  
  
Quatre stood, a tight smile on his face. "Miss Dancy? I am Quatre Winner. Heero thought you might have information about our friends?"  
  
Dancy slipped onto the seat beside mine, moving a lot closer than necessary. "Yes, I may.... nothing comes for free, you know."  
  
Ok, this girl was freaking me out now. She talked like Relena, looked like a goddess, and acted like a whore.  
  
"What do you want?" asked Heero brusquely. She stretched slowly, hands above her head, and body arching. I had a feeling this little display was for our benefit. "Hmm...." she looked consideringly at Heero, Quatre, then at me. "What's on offer?"  
  
We looked at each other. "The location of the Ligue's headquarters in this city." Heero offered.  
  
Suddenly, she was paying attention. "That's not worth anything. If you were to couple it with something, however, I might consider."  
  
She was bluffing. She wanted the information, badly. Quatre shook his head. "That's the deal. Take it or leave it." She scowled prettily. Then turned the full force of her looks on me.  
  
"Come on sweetie, please? For me?" she asked huskily. Whoah, she was hot. But guess what honey? Heero's hotter.  
  
I shook my head slowly. Nope. She read the finality in my features. "Damn." Muttered Dancy softly. She sighed noisily. "Alright then. Where is it?"  
  
"Tell us what you know first." Heero replied.  
  
"Okay, okay.... red ribbons on their wrists? Unusual guns?" At our nods, she continued. "That'd be the Baiser de la mort. They're the most powerful vampire clan in the country. Their name means Kiss of Death."  
  
I cracked up. I couldn't help it. Kiss of Death? What sort of a name is that? Which B-grade movie did these guys come from, anyway? Bloodsucker Returns?  
  
Everyone stared at me for a moment. "Ignore him." Heero said finally. "Where are they?"  
  
"Uh.... Tranton Road, Southside. The big black, clichéd house. Looks like a haunted mansion."  
  
At this, a fresh wave of laughter swamped me.  
  
"I'd best be going now." Dancy flashed her predator smile, then leant over to whisper in my ear, "Just in case you miss me, you can always find me by asking the witches."  
  
Heero was directing his famous Death Glare at her back. I was surprised it was still there, and not a smoking hole.  
  
*  
  
I was lying facedown on my bed, when I heard the argument. Heero and Quatre, both sounding mad as hell.  
  
"He cannot come!" yelled Heero. "We can't go in with just the two of us either!" Quatre matched his furious tone.  
  
"Quatre...." Heero lowered his voice, until I could barely hear it. As I was in the next room, that wasn't saying much. "He's only human. He has a Devorn Band, but it'll be no good against vampires. They're strong enough to snap his spine like a matchstick. He'll die if he goes."  
  
"Duo can handle himself, you know that, Heero. He doesn't rely on strength to fight, he relies on speed and cunning. He'll get through."  
  
Their voices dropped lower, until I could no longer hear them. I turned to stare at the ceiling. Vampires were that strong hey? No wonder Heero was worried.... about me. Heero worried about me! I smiled. There's my warm'n'fuzzy for the day.  
  
Rolling on my side, I reached under the bed, and removed, and loaded my silver gun. For the first time, I noticed a name, engraved on the side of the weapon. No, not a name. A word. And another, on the other side of the gun. Freedom, and reality.  
  
What is freedom? I read a quote somewhere; freedom is the right to be wrong, not to do wrong. But that doesn't quite fit.  
  
Freedom, as I see it, it the right to believe whatever you want, say whatever you want, be whatever you want.  
  
But what about the people, who want others to serve them, respect them, fear them? If they achieve freedom, they will rob it from others. And that's not fair. It's called reality.  
  
It's a double-edged sword, just like this gun. The gun can help me achieve my goals, but only by harming or intimidating others. And, I guess, it's the same for Specials.  
  
Their power is like a gun, inside their heads. It can help achieve the greater good, but only by doing wrong.  
  
If the world was told about them, then they would be hunted down, and killed. Because people would fear the power, and wish to eliminate it. They would see only the power, and the danger. Never the person they were murdering.  
  
But what about vampires, and werewolves? The ones, whose powers were not inside their heads, but inside their bodies. The ones that kill humans, deliberately.  
  
They would be hunted, even more so than the others. But is it their fault? They too, have to eat.  
  
I shifted uneasily. I didn't like the direction my thoughts were taking me. It's hard to kill the enemy, when you start thinking about them as people, and not just obstructions to be eliminated.  
  
I was still holding the gun, turning it slowly in my hands. It really was an odd gun. It was a lot smaller than most, for a start. The trigger was made of an odd alloy, copper and something else. Working for the sweepers, I learnt a lot about metal.  
  
The butt of the gun was hardwood, covered with swirling patterns, and runes. A hand, taking the gun from my grasp, broke my reverie.  
  
Heero examined the gun closely, peering at the runes. A rare smile broke over his face. "You stole this from the Ligue's headquarters?" he guessed. I nodded, adding, "I took all their silver bullets too."  
  
"Good. These runes are for protection. They will help against the vampires. But," here he turned to look at me, and I have never seen him more serious, "Do not take risks, Duo. This is serious. We're outnumbered. Even if we weren't, we'd still be doomed to lose in an all-out fight. So we have to be cautious."  
  
I know, I know.  
  
*  
  
When Dancy said it looked like a haunted mansion, she wasn't kidding. It reminded me of that house Casper the Friendly Ghost lived in.  
  
We were lying flat on our stomachs, on a hill, facing the house, taking turns with the binoculars. In the last five minutes, two cars, three motorbikes and a truck had arrived. None had left. And I doubted very much that it was for a birthday party.  
  
Something grabbed my ankle. I spun, to face my attacker. Or not. How the hell does Heero move without making noise?  
  
We skirted the playground at the base of the hill, walking calmly to the shops. From there, Heero went into mission-mode. No talking. No detours, except for tactical purposes. No stopping, unless it aided the mission. No breathing, unless it was for the good of the mission.  
  
As we got closer to the house, I could see it was in considerably better condition than Casper's. The windows were clean, the garden was ordered, the lawn was leaf-free. Neat freaks.  
  
We stopped for a moment, waiting under the cover of the neighbours wild, overgrown jungle. The plan was to go in, one by one, so if one was caught, the others could keep going.  
  
Quat went first, dropping silently over the fence, and slipping through the fly-wire back door.  
  
We were to wait three minutes, then Heero had to follow. Forty seconds were left, when Heero suddenly turned to face me. "Duo....I.... umm...." I stared in shock. Did the Perfectly Eloquent Perfect Soldier just say _umm_?  
  
I stopped thinking about anything a second later, when he kissed me. Not an open mouthed, need-you-now kind of kiss. More nervous, hesitant. He drew back way too soon for me. He was looking at me carefully, trying to see if I was disgusted, and hated his guts. Fat chance.  
  
I gave him an award-winning, shining Maxwell smile. And you know what? For the first time in years, it was for real.  
  
He smiled back, then turned without a word, and vaulted lightly over the fence, and into the shelter of the bushy fir-tree beyond.  
  
Maybe, kissing me right then wasn't the best thing he could've done. Not only was I now going to have to deal with the usual adrenalin rush, I was going to feel invincible and insanely happy. Who wouldn't? The Perfect Soldier kissed me.  
  
I could feel a big, silly grin creeping over my face. Just as my time ran out. Time to meet the real Bat-men. And women, this being the age of equality.  
  
Once under the fir-tree, I paused, checking the yard for people. Deserted. I darted across the lawn and into the house. Once inside, I glanced around.  
  
It looked just like any other room. White walls, tiled floor. A washing machine and a cupboard. This looked like their laundry.  
  
I checked my werewolf gun was secure and loaded, then peered cautiously out into the hall. Suddenly, I was sincerely wishing for garlic. My cross would have to do.  
  
There was no doubt this hall belonged to a vampire, or at the very least a homicidal maniac.  
  
The whole thing was painted a dusty red/brown. Exactly the shade of dried blood. Placed randomly along the hallway, were very.... kinky, macabre ornaments. Here's an example. The closest one to me was a naked male vampire, kissing a skeleton, complete with tongue. Lovely.  
  
Remind me to avoid their decorator.  
  
Slinking down the hallway, I kept to the shadows as much as I could. It was a very large, dingy corridor, and the whole place smelled sort of musty. Like lettuce that's been left too long in the sun. Like blood soaked fabric.  
  
That was _not_ an image I needed.  
  
A strangled yell drifted down the stairs ahead of me. They creaked as they took the weight of a matronly woman, bustling down the stairs. She was carrying Quatre by the neck.  
  
She knew what she was doing. She was holding his pressure points, making his body limp. But he was still alive. And he saw me.  
  
He looked pointedly at me, then up the stairs, then at me again. He repeated this several times, before the woman passed me.  
  
Up we go, then.  
  
But it was not as simple as that. The stairs were an old, creaky, Victorian style affair. I knew to keep to the edges, where the stairs would be strongest, and least likely to creak. Definitely not a fool-proof method.  
  
Halfway up the stairs, I paused, hearing voices.  
  
"But _then_ Mina said I couldn't! Can you imagine? She's only a servant after all, and a human as well. What right has she, to tell me what I may and mayn't do?" said a haughty voice.  
  
A platinum blonde pair turned the corner, a girl and boy. The speaker, the boy, couldn't have been more than a year or so younger than me [2]. The girl was around eight or nine.  
  
"Silly Mina!" exclaimed the girl vehemently. "She should be taught not to rise above her station! She's lucky she hasn't been bled yet."  
  
The boy nodded firmly. "Father should dismiss her. He seems to find her.... amusing, however. Mother hates her. Wonder why?" The sarcasm was thick in his voice. Reading between the lines, I could make a pretty good guess at the relationship between their father, and this Mina.  
  
The girl froze. This was not good. Oh no. She sniffed. "Vander.... can you smell anything?"  
  
The blonde youth sniffed as well. "Yes." He said shortly. "The disgusting stink of humans. What can you expect, when Mina is allowed to sleep in the house? But," he paused, inhaling again, "now that you mention it, the smell is much, much stronger than usual. It almost seems.... masculine."[3]  
  
They looked at each other. I caught the significance of that glance. It was time to get out. Now.  
  
I started edging away, slowly drawing level with them, then moving higher up the steps. I almost escaped. Almost.  
  
Vander must've seen some sign of movement. Either that, or he smelt me. Heero could've warned me about that, but no.  
  
His hand darted out, fastening around my wrist. "It's a human." He hissed. This was the first time I'd seen a vampire up close. I just stared.  
  
His teeth, while not the ten-inch long fangs of the movies, were a good three inches at least. His eyes were deep, deep blue. The irises were huge, with barely any white, and the pupils were slitted, like a cat's. He _was_ kind of pale, but that was where the resemblance to the movies ended.  
  
He was studying me, just as carefully as I was him. "What are you doing here, little sparrow? This isn't a place for pretty little birds."  
  
Excuse me, sparrow? Ok, I'm short. And skinny. And yes, if you wanted to piss me off, you could call me delicate. But SPARROW? This kid was even younger than I was! I think.  
  
He smirked, seeing my reaction. "Lucinda? Tell Father we've found another house-guest."  
  
The girl smiled, delight literally seeping out of her. "May we keep him, Vander?" Keep me? I didn't like the sound of that. Nu-uh.  
  
Vander smiled gently back at her. The effect was somewhat spoiled by his fangs. "We'll ask Father." He promised.  
  
*  
  
Heero wasn't kidding when he said vampires were strong. It felt like bands of steel were wrapped around my wrists, rather than slender fingers.  
  
"You didn't answer my question, Sparrow. What are you doing here?" Vander asked softly.  
  
I was being marched to their Father's study, flanked by Vander and Lucinda, each holding one of my wrists.  
  
"Is he a Special, Vander?" Lucinda asked eagerly. Vander stopped, grabbing my chin and forcing me to look at him.  
  
"No." He concluded after a moment. "He's human. But _what is he doing here?_" I refused to answer. Vander had said 'another house guest'. That meant they definitely had Quatre. What about Heero?  
  
Suddenly, I was jerked to a halt. We were facing a sturdy wooden door, ordinary enough. A plain brass plaque was proudly displayed on the front.  
  
Lidérc, Commander  
  
Vander smirked, and dragged me through the door. Inside, the lights were dim. The brightest thing in the room was the computer monitor. It's light vaguely illuminated the sharp features of the man behind the desk, and reflected off his shining white-blonde hair.  
  
"Yes, children?" asked a refined voice. "Is this our guest?" The two younger vampires nodded.  
  
"He is human, Father. May we keep him? Please?" asked Lucinda hopefully. "Why is he here?" inquired Lidérc. Vander shrugged.  
  
"So far, he has not spoken. Though I suspect he is here with the others." Others. Damn. They had them both.  
  
"Well, if he is human, and not threat, then I see no reason why you may not keep him." The vampire leader smiled benevolently at his offspring, who beamed back.  
  
"What is his name?" Vander and Lucinda glanced at each other, and smiled. "Sparrow." They said, simultaneously.  
  
No. Please no. I followed Vander out in a daze. This was definitely worst case scenario. Think, Duo. What would Heero do?  
  
Heero would never have gotten himself into this situation in the first place, my ever helpful subconscious replied. Thanks, you're a huge help.  
  
I was lead to a small room, three levels below Lidérc's office. And left.  
  
And the only thoughts in my head were: Shit. Oh holy shit.  
  
*  
  
[1] Said by John G. Riefenbaker  
  
[2] Yes, this charactor was based a tiny bit on Draco Malfoy  
  
[3] Wolves can tell the difference between male, and female, old and young,  
  
sick and healthy animals by smell. I just randomly decided to give vampires  
  
a little bit of this as well. 


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Not mine.  
  
Povoe o medo o que não compreendem e não odeiam o que não podem conquistar.  
  
(People fear what they don't understand and hate what they can't conquer.)[1]  
  
*  
  
Vampires are creatures of habit. Every day, for the past week, Lucinda has flounced in at exactly seven AM, woken me, and dragged me off to whatever inane task I'm assigned to for the day.  
  
At twelve, Vander will arrive, and lean against the nearest convenient wall, smirking at me. I hate him. I hate his hair. I hate his eyes. I hate his smirk. I hate his ears. I hate his shoes. Are we sensing a theme here?  
  
After an hour or so, Vander will lead me off, to do whatever the hell he wants me to for the rest of the day. Today, I got to clean and polish the household's shoes. All fifty-eight pairs. Lucky me.  
  
Which brings me up to now. My fingers are black, literally coated in shoe polish. How many goddamn shoes do they need?  
  
There are about six permanent residents here, but other than that, it's a floating population. Vander, Lucinda, their mother Civateto, Lidérc, the matronly woman, Vivienne, and the other human, Mina.  
  
The others come and go. I'm not sure how many there are in the Baiser de la mort, but it's well over two hundred.  
  
"Done yet, Sparrow?" inquired Vander. He was, once again, leaning on the wall behind me. Right behind me. So close, his shoes were practically touching me. I shook my head, silently. "Hurry up, little bird. Father has a meeting in half an hour, and he'll need his shoes." These kids idolise their Father. They hate his mistress, Mina, and fear their mother, Civateto. Sometimes I wonder-  
  
A cold finger ran up the back of my neck.  
  
I jerked, twisting to face the young vampire. "Stop that." He raised one silvery eyebrow. "Does the bird presume to order its master? That seems rather unwise, wouldn't you say?"  
  
I shot him a venomous glance, but turned silently back to my shoes. The last time I openly defied Vander, on my second day here, I'd paid the price. He'd drunk some of my blood.  
  
Having your blood sucked out of you is definitely not recommended. It hurts like hell, because they're sucking faster than your blood is pumping, and Vander was sucking in the opposite direction. I've gotten bashed up pretty badly before, but this beat them all.  
  
So now, I'm just going to stay quiet.  
  
I'm pretty sure the other guys are still in the house. It's a big house, but I'm pretty sure I know where they are, too. On the second floor, there's a locked door. It's thick, solid oak. It's the only room in the house locked. These guys don't take security too seriously. So the guys have got to be in there.  
  
I've been trying to figure out how the hell to pull us out of this mess, but so far, I'm coming up blank. The only other human in the place is Mina, and she's no help. She's happy to be here.  
  
Vander shifts restlessly. What's Lidérc's meeting about, I wonder? Yesterday, several car loads of vampires arrived. Lidérc started sucking up to them (not literally) so I'm guessing they're important.  
  
Finally, last pair. No more shoes for me! Turning to face Vander, still on my knees, I look up at him and hold the shoes up for his inspection. As he leans forward, I had to resist the urge to smash the shiny things into his face. And they say I have no self control. He shrugs, not caring whether they're clean enough. "Come." He turned, walking out.  
  
Following him slowly through the maze of dark corridors, I tried to avoid looking at some of the more..... morbid décor. Unfortunately, it's everywhere.  
  
Lucinda walked into the hallway, followed by her mother. Civateto is a tall, regal red-head. She gives the impression that everyone and everything does not meet up to her expectations. Except herself, of course. She's perfect, naturally. Stupid bitch.  
  
"Vander, take that back. It can't come. I don't know why your Father allowed you to keep it, but I won't have it befouling my sight." Sniffed the vampiress. Vander gave a winning smile, complete with fangs.  
  
"But Mother, there isn't time. And you don't want him to have free rein of the house, do you?"  
  
Civateto sniffed, and swept imperiously down the hall. Vander winked at Lucinda, who giggled.  
  
The little blonde girl trotted to my side, snatching my hand and insistently pulling me after her mother. Everyone's favourite Ice Prince followed, still smirking.  
  
I'd never been into this wing before. There was always at least two vamps leaning, oh-so-coincidentally against the wall. The disgusting décor changed, the walls going from dried blood to a sort of yellowish grey/white. Bleached bone. Charming.  
  
Our little parade stopped, outside an el cheapo[2] door (why is it, that although most of the furniture in this house is worth thousands, all their doors are absolute crap?). The vampires gave each other nervous glances, then walked in with their heads held high, giving everyone inside a full view of the contents of their nostrils.  
  
Trailing after them, I tried not to let my curiosity show. The room was large, with the roof so far above our heads, that in the minimum light, it was virtually invisible. In the centre of the room, was a long, wooden table. Old, shiny, varnished wood. About twenty seats were stationed around it, most of which were filled with what could only be more vampires. Lidérc sat at the head of the table, and his gaze flickered down towards us as we entered. His eyebrows rose a little at the sight of me, and he looked accusingly at Civateto. She pretended not to see.  
  
Lucinda led me in a death-grip to the corner of the room, and pointed at a stool, then flounced off to another corner, without glancing back. Vander came and leaned on the wall behind me. Apparently he was too young for a place at the table.  
  
The low murmur of voices halted abruptly. The el cheapo door was opened, and three vampires entered. They were followed by Heero, Wufei, Trowa and Quatre, who were in turn, followed by three more guards. My friends were lead to the end of the table, and their handcuffs were attached to the legs of the table, effectively forcing them to kneel. I growled softly.  
  
They couldn't possibly have heard me. But Heero glanced up, at me. His eyes widened, as he took in the bite mark on my neck, Vander leaning against the wall behind me..... and the collar.  
  
I swear, if I ever get a pet, I won't make it wear a collar. It is the single most humiliating thing in the world. Mine was black, with streaks of silver twisted through. At least it was a decent colour.  
  
He looked.....horrified, and surreptitiously nudged Wufei, then looked pointedly at me. One by one, the others glanced at me, their faces all mirroring Heero's.  
  
While this little ritual was taking place, the vampires had resumed their conversations. Quatre jerked his eyes away from me, just as Lidérc cleared his throat.  
  
"We have before us, the Four mentioned in the prophecy. The Silencer," he pointed at Trowa, "the Solitary Dragon," Now Wufei, "the Golden One," Quatre, "and the Enigma." He looked last at Heero. "And," here he raised his voice, so it echoed around the room, "the witches have regained the child."  
  
Dead silence filled the room. Lidérc smiled, satisfied by their reaction. "We will, naturally, be taking the infant out of their incompetent hands. They've already lost it once. There can be no second chances. These four," here he nodded at the other pilots, "Will be coming with us."  
  
*  
  
We left immediately. In the rush, no one thought to take me back to my room, so I took advantage of it. I was expecting the vamps to have cool black cars, but no. These guys have weird tastes. Heero, Wufei, Trowa, Quatre, Vander, some freaky dude, and me ended up in a hippy van. Lovely.  
  
I tried to edge inconspicuously edge towards the others, who were behind one of those mesh luggage barriers. It didn't work. Vander saw me, and raised an eyebrow, but didn't say a word.  
  
"Duo!" Quatre whispered. I nodded, as Quat was pushed aside by Heero. "Status?"  
  
"Bit woozy still, from blood loss," the others winced sympathetically, and I saw Heero's eyes trail up to the bite on my neck, "but otherwise fully functional."  
  
"Mission report?"  
  
"The house has about six permanent residents, the Commander Lidérc's family, and his mistress Mina, who's human, as well as a functionary, the cow who caught Quat."  
  
Heero nodded sharply, then poked a finger through the wide metal mesh, and touched the mark on my throat. "What happened?"  
  
"I pissed Vander off."  
  
Wufei nodded at Vander, and raised an eyebrow in question. I nodded in reply. "Can you guys do any.." I wiggled my fingers, "Special stuff?"  
  
They shook their heads. "They've put Devorn bands on us. We can't get them off." Trowa explained.  
  
Vander reached over and grabbed the back of my collar. "I don't think Father would like you talking to them. And I don't think I like it either." He informed me coolly, yanking me back to crouch at his feet.  
  
Heero glowered at him. Heh, whaddya know? Even vampires can't meet Heero's death stare.  
  
The van turned sharply, throwing me off balance, and sending me sprawling. It bounced around, on what I guessed was a dirt track, before coming to a juddering halt.  
  
Stepping cautiously out, I glanced around. Trees, trees, trees, some very appealing ladies, more trees, werewolves, a bunch of pale guys with bright red hair, trees, and of course, an angry mob. No party should be without one.  
  
In this case, however, it seemed the mob was here in support of the Baiser de la mort. Or so I assumed, from the lack of stakes and pitchforks.  
  
The people/creatures parted, as Lidérc swept imperiously towards the gatherings centre, and we all followed, pulled along in his wake.  
  
At the very centre of the clearing, a pentagram had been drawn in what I was desperately hoping was red paint. The smell of it wasn't too reassuring.  
  
At each point of the pentagram, stood a witch. The one closest to us was guarded by Dancy, who saw me, and winked.  
  
I looked over my shoulder, trying to catch Heero's eye. But he and the others were gone.  
  
Twisting, I searched the faces for them. Finally, I spotted a flick of gold hair as Quatre was dragged into.. I couldn't see what.  
  
The clearing was lit by a flaring light, and as I whipped back to face the pentagram, I saw it originated from the witch in the east corner. The light of the sun dimmed suddenly, as clouds rolled over the sky.  
  
The next witch shone a brilliant white, followed in turn by the remaining three. It was so bright, I ducked my head. Blind? No thanks.  
  
What I heard next, made me jerk my head right back up again. A humming sort of sound, like you hear when you go way too close to a beehive. In the centre of the pentagram, a blue whirlwind of light was spinning.  
  
It twisted and leaped, fighting, trying to escape. But the five pillars of white light kept it trapped. Finally, the blur began to slow, as we caught our first glimpse of this all-powerful baby.  
  
A familiar pink jumpsuit became visible.  
  
The voice of the cowering Ligue member flashed through my head  
  
"..my team found an inconspicuous hiding place, like you ordered.."  
  
And Quatre  
  
".."There's something strange about this building. Lately it's been feeling almost.... empowered.."  
  
I fought down hysterical laughter. _Marny_ was this super-kid? The baby next door? Holy shit.  
  
The witches broke formation and lunged for Marny. So did everyone else. Dancy was closest, stretching out her hands and actually brushing the pink sleeve, before the fore-field kicked in.  
  
Everyone within a two metre radius of Marny was blasted back. A shimmering, translucent dome formed around her.  
  
The Specials picked themselves up, and the braver ones cautiously approached the barrier. Slowly, a daring and stupid vampire stretched out his hand, and flinchingly touched the force-field. Nothing happened.  
  
Gaining in confidence, the others approached, running their hands over the dome, murmuring softly to each other. I could see their inhuman silhouettes against the pearly glow of the force-field. It was pretty damn freaky.  
  
A werewolf, who seemed to have finally realised there was no convenient door in the dome, let out a frustrated howl. Marny laughed, and clapped her hands. She seemed much bigger than she had been. She looked at least a year old now.  
  
A rush of sound came from behind me, and a swirling dark cape brushed my nose from my position, once again crouched at Vander's feet. A vampire swept imperiously past us. To my shock, Lidérc went down on bended knee to this stranger, who didn't so much as glance at him.  
  
"Nosferatu.." Murmured Vander reverentially. I blinked. Wasn't he some famous vampire?  
  
Nosferatu extended one pale hand to rest on Marny's force-field, but before he'd even touched it, a whip-crack sounded, and a furious woman wielding a staff stood beside him.  
  
"Aradia," Nosferatu sounded amused, "I would never have thought to find you here."  
  
Every witch in the area flocked to Aradia, some of the bolder ones curtseying to her, and fawning over her. The regal woman paid no attention to them.  
  
"I have as much right to be here as you do, Nosferatu. The creature is my offspring as well."  
  
_This_ was Marny's mother? This evil witch-goddess-thing? And Nosferatu was her father? Too weird.  
  
"This creature, as you call it, is our salvation. It will raise as to our rightful place, above the masses of human scum." It was unnerving, to hear that said, in the vampire's cold, precise voice.  
  
Anradia cackled. "You fool! This monster will destroy us all, and leave the humans to despoil our world! Already, they trample our sacred groves. The Isle of Avalon is a _tourist attraction_ for the Goddess's sake!"[3]  
  
Nosferatu was getting mad. He didn't like to be laughed at. A sizzling black.. feeling began to emanate from him All my senses began screaming _danger_. But the insane bitch-witch was completely oblivious.  
  
He turned sharply away from her, and glared at the dome. Nothing else. And I saw the dome crack.  
  
Apparently Marny did too. She wailed, and the crack healed. Nosferatu frowned, and turned on Lidérc. "You reported you had the five from the prophesy?" he asked sharply.  
  
Lidérc nodded to his cronies, who dragged the others forward from where they'd been hidden.  
  
Nosferatu grabbed Trowa by the neck, and pushed him towards the wall. He bounced off. Nosferatu tried all the rest, one by one. He seemed a bit cautious of Heero. None of them went through.  
  
All this time I'd been edging my way to the front, thanks to Vander's inattention, and now I was really close to the dome. I could see the little smirk on Marny's face.  
  
Some jerk behind me pushed me forward. I tripped, and flinched, awaiting the impact of the dome. It didn't come.  
  
I had fallen through the force-field.  
  
*  
  
[1] Andrew Smith [2] Meaning it cost about 5 cents and would fall over if you blinked at it [3] Avalon is today known as Glastonbury Tor Here's an interesting bit of info for you. Duo's charactor was based on a priest killed during the Spanish Inquisition, who wore his hair in a braid and called himself the God of Death.  
  
I've decided this story is going to be WAY to short to call it an actual fic, so it's now a prequel. The actual fic (where Duo will get his powers for real) is gonna be called Alvorecer de Amanhã 


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Last chappy until I write the sequel/actual fic 

Como uma pessoa ganha a mostra do jogo algo de seu caráter; como

perde mostras todas dele.

(How a person wins the game show something of his character; how he loses shows all of it.) [1]

*

Slowly, I raised myself off the ground, looking around uncertainly. 

The gathering appeared to be having collective apoplexy. Nosferatu looked shocked, Lidérc's eyes were popping out of his head, and Vander was gaping. Even Heero had raised an eyebrow. 

A happy gurgle came from behind me. Turning, I looked uncertainly at Marny. She cracked a smile, and I found myself picking her up. She gave a little laugh, and _the sun came out[_2].  

While I was gawking at the baby, Nosferatu had recovered from his shock.

"Who is that?" he hissed to Lidérc. 

"My children's pet, your Majesty, no one important. Although... he did arrive with two of the Five." Said Lidérc slowly. Nosferatu sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose. 

"And you did not deem it necessary to inform me because?"

"I... uh... I didn't think it was important, Sire, and I didn't want to waste your time..." he trailed off weakly.

"_Idiot!_" roared Nosferatu suddenly, backhanding Lidérc across the face. "You _knew it didn't have to be one of the Five. You _knew_ it could be someone they knew."_

Lidérc cringed. "Yes master, sorry master, forgive me master."

"Get _up_ you spineless worm!" Nosferatu ordered, "And fix your mistake!"

Lidérc leapt eagerly forward, and halted just on the edge of the dome. Suddenly, he seemed to run out of ideas. 

"Come on out, little Sparrow." Vander called softly, stepping up beside his father. Lidérc nodded eagerly. "Yes... we've never hurt you, have we? Come out, and you'll be rewarded more than your wildest dreams. Only bring the brat with you... what does she mean to you, anyway? You don't even know her..." Lidérc coaxed.

Civateto tried a different approach, when Lidérc's attempts failed. "Come out, you little weakling, or believe me, we'll kill the Five. We don't need them any more. We've got you."

My head jerked up, and they all noticed. Suddenly, a crack of lightening split the air, literally a bolt from the blue. Good ol' Quat. 

The Specials screeched and leapt back, many of them singed. A burst of flame from Heero ensured that no one escaped unscathed. 

Wait, wait, hold everything. Weren't they wearing Devorn bands? A flick of red hair caught my eye. Dancy was standing in the shadows behind them, her eyes glinting, as she twirled the yellow bands on her finger. 

Slowly, the other Specials began to back away from the guys. Smart move.

A knot of werewolves moved forward. "Out of the way!" snarled what could only be the leader.

The werewolves surrounded the dome, threw their heads back, and began to howl. The sound rose in pitch, until it was a shriek capable of cracking glass. Which it did. A long jagged crack was appearing on the windshield of the car closest to me. But it was having no effect on the dome.

The witches marched determinedly forward, shouldering the wolves out of the way, and formed their pentagram once more. They began to chant. I shivered. This was like something out of a horror movie.

_Bengan__ donas, lindi lamos_

_Incan train, sindon pamos_

_Elan__ ulan, macherrie ni_

_Ghihan__ aeli, astoo FRI!_

An explosion of... you could only call it black light, rocked over the clearing. But once again, the baby was untouched.

A man in black armour stepped forward, waving a massive silver sword. "I am Sir Baelorus, terror of the Blacklands, ruler of Guugein, defeater of-" 

"The only thing you've ever defeated was that cockroach, and it was dead. Get to the _point_ Baelorus!" snapped Aradia. Baelorus pouted. 

"I was going to offer to help. Espada Escura, my sword, has powerful magic." He muttered sulkily. Nosferatu nodded eagerly.

"He's right, that sword's power is more than double mine!" The vampire king pulled the shining silver sword out of Baelorus's grasp, and tentatively poked it at, and _through_, the force-field. He reminded me of a kid with a stick. 

Nosferatu growled with frustration as he realised that despite the sword, he couldn't get even one finger through. "Let _me do it." Demanded Aradia, snatching it out of his hand. She couldn't get through either, and gave a little scream of rage when she realised. "This is _useless_ to us!" She raised the sword, and flung it into the dome._

It sliced down through the air, passing so close to my ear that I could hear it humming as it passed. I was so surprised by this, I didn't move. And it sliced into my shoulder.

I yelled, somehow managing not to drop Marny, who, sensing my pain, began to howl. Once again, the sound of a beehive filled the air. But Marny wasn't going nowhere. It was everyone _else_ that began to glow.

The streaks of light that they had all become, began to spin and glow, lighting up the clearing, and finally, fade. Leaving me alone with Marny. In the middle of a wood. Completely lost.

Oh goodie.

*

Half an hour later, after I'd given up trying to communicate to Marny to take us home, I'd broken into and hotwired one of the vampire's cars, a big, maroon four wheel drive.

I was negotiating the bending dirt road. Well, large path. I think it's a path. Fine, a place with no trees. Marny was gurgling happily from where I'd put her, in the back, and without a seatbelt. She was just too small for them.

I swore, as a huge rock came into sight, squatting determinedly in my way. Guess it wasn't a road after all.

Marny looked at me, and gurgled again. And suddenly, we were parked outside the apartment building. 

"Geez, Marny," I said as I extracted her from the backseat. "_Now_ you take us home." She just smiled at me.

Walking into the near empty lobby, I stepped into the repaired (finally! I _hate_ those stairs) lift, I pressed the button for our floor, and stood, shifting from foot to foot, with Marny in my arms.

Someone _else's arms wrapped around my waist. And I could smell doughnuts. _

"Duo." Heero said softly in my ear. A huge grin spread over my face. 

"Hey Hee-babe. I missed you." I added shyly. I wasn't sure what Heero wanted from me just yet. Yeah, he had kissed me, and was holding me now, but with someone like Heero, assumptions are dangerous.

"Hn." He murmured, but it was a weird 'hn'... a happy kinda 'hn'. My smile grew.

_Ding_

Damn lift

*

That was three weeks ago now. We're moving out of the apartment today, all the fuss about the journalist has blown over. Marny is being looked after by, believe it or not, Sally Po, who is also a Special. I still think Quat plans to kidnap Marny. Maternal instincts.

The Specials have been flocking out of the city like rats out of a sinking ship (or like Heero out of Relena's vicinity). I still haven't gotten that goddamn collar off, but it's kinda growing on me, so I'll probably stop trying to get rid of it.

As for me and Heero, well...

I turn and smile at my koi as he stalks into the room, carrying The Laptop. Slowly, he smiles back. 

He's opened up loads in the past few weeks, but I get the feeling it's just the tip of the iceberg. He actually talks now, to me, at least, and occasionally he'll smile for now real reason. The other day, I caught him staring at me with this happy little smile on his face. Needless to say, that lead to a happy little smile on _my face, which lead to making out, which lead to... other things._

Quat and Trowa, I reckon they'll be announcing their engagement any day now. Wufei's disgusted with the lot of us, but he's just jealous.

A clunk comes from behind me, and footsteps approach my position at the window. "Baka." Heero murmured. 

*

What _is_ it about Quatre and tea? I swear, he's addicted to the stuff!

He's sitting at the table, reading what looks to me like a fairly soppy romance novel (although he insists it's a political book) and drinking his _fourth_ cup. 

"MAXWELL!" came Wufei's furious shriek. I grinned. Those katanas looked so good with their new... decorations. Little pink love hearts and yellow stars. Quatre glanced up for a moment, and sighed, happily.

"Things are going back to normal, aren't they?" he asked me quietly, a contented smile on his face. I grinned back. 

"I guess."

He hesitates, then plunges on. "Duo, I know for a while back there you were pretty mad at us. We should have told you, we know that now. I'm going to try and make up for that now. So, anything you want to know?"

I smiled at him. Typical of Quat, trying to make everyone happy. "Yeah, actually. Do the doctors know about you guys? Why did they put me on the team?"

"Yes, they do know about our powers. The original plan, I've been told, was to have at least one human on the team. Humans are much more... in tune with their surroundings than we are."

I blinked, confused. Quatre frowned, trying to explain. "It's like... geez, this is like trying to explain to a fish how it swims. It's like... you've heard of intuition, fate, destiny? And luck?"

"Uh, yeah Quat, I'd say it's a pretty safe bet I've heard of luck. What about it?"

"Well, really, all that stuff is the human brain, receiving signals from the land around you, and reacting accordingly. Subconsciously, of course, in part of the huge percentage of brain you humans don't use."

I will never get used to hearing the guys say 'you humans'. It's unnerving. Quatre was watching me, trying to see if I was keeping up. I nodded.

"Specials, as you know, have the advantage of powers which they can wield consciously. But the price of that is losing their connection with their surroundings. Which is why we needed at least one human. Whether you or Hilde, it made no difference."

I nodded again, and for a while, we lapsed into a comfortable silence. But I've never liked silence. 

"You reckon anyone will try and get Marny again?"

Quatre paused, sipping his tea. Putting down the delicate china cup, he replied "I don't think so... not yet at least. That was some display she put on. Blasting us all away like that, just incredible."

_Thump_, _thump, thump, thump, thump_

Someone was running towards us at high-speed. The footsteps slowed for a moment. "Barton!" Wufei barked. "Where is Maxwell?"

Trowa, wherever he was, gave a low chuckle. "Thankyou." Said Wufei gravely, presumably because Trowa had pointed me out.

_Thump_, _thump, thump, thump, thump_

I started to wonder if I should be running about now. Then Wufei's enraged features manoeuvred themselves into my line of sight, and I knew I should be running right now. 

I leapt to my feet and execute a stunning leap out of the opposite door. No time to lose. I dash outside, and look around desperately for an escape route. And... _there__! A ladder, reaching to the roof, left there by Trowa, who's recently gotten really into astronomy, and has a habit of sitting on the roof with a telescope in the middle of the night. _

Darting up the ladder, I turn and grin triumphantly at Wu-man from the roof. And he grins right back. What... no. Oh no.

Wufei trots happily away, holding the ladder under his arm. I gaze forlornly after him from the roof.

Climbing to the peak of the roof, I slump unhappily against a chimney (why do all these rich ass houses have chimneys anyway? It's not like they can't afford normal heating). 

A piece of brick digs into my shoulder, and I shift, trying to ease the pain. I watch as Heero walks purposefully towards Wufei, and asks him something. Wufei turns, and with a vicious grin, points at me. I make a pleading motion to Heero. He observes me impassively for a moment, and then to my horror, breaks out in an evil smirk. And walks off.

Jerk.

I shifted uncomfortably as once again that annoying brick hurts my shoulder. The same shoulder that magic sword ripped into.

Nothing's left but a scar now. I suspect Marny might've had something to do with that. I should _not_ have been able to drive with that arm. 

So it's all healed up now. I wonder if it got infected? Can magic swords even give infections? 

I don't now why, but for the past weeks, it just keeps on..._ tingling._

Shrugging, I turn, and prepare for a crash landing. I catapult myself off the roof, and, completely coincidently, Wufei catches me. We stare at each other for a moment. Then...

"MAXWELL!"

*

That was cruel, wasn't it? You can throw rotten tomatoes at me.

[1] No idea who said this, but it sounded cool so I stuck it in

 [2] Yes, I have finally figured out how to get italics. Yes!!

Shin-chan: Yeah, you sorta guessed a bit of the plot. Clever shin-chan!

I apologise for using so many (probably unnecessary) italics, but I couldn't resist.

Also, in the next fic I was thinking of pairing Wufei up with someone, and maybe, _maybe using one of the G-girls for one of the bad guys. Any preferences?_


	8. Thankyous

THANKYOUS  
  
First of all, big big big BIG thankyous to both rikasakuraduo- heerosyliaspike, and cryearthstearsfalltou, who both reviewed practically every chapter. I mightn't have got this finished without you guys. Thankyou so much!  
  
More thankies to:  
  
Mithros (both of you)  
  
Casey  
  
Crysania Fay  
  
Shin-chan  
  
J  
  
Kenshin Kitty  
  
Amethyst Bubble  
  
Electronicgamer3  
  
Rinkurocks (another regular reviewer)  
  
Hikaru  
  
Akennea  
  
Ryen Selenity Caliburn  
  
Rat queen  
  
Alc Fluteo  
  
Kael Kalespel  
  
Ryo-chan  
  
And Blue pig.  
  
And also thankyou to Goldendove88, who read and reviewed even though she hates 1x2 and 3x4, and said it was a good story anyway.  
  
If I've missed anyone, I'M SORRY!  
  
The sequel may take a while to get out, I have the first couple of chapters worked out, and a basic plot. But we've just got back to school, so my time on the computer is going way down. 


End file.
